The innovations and related subject matter disclosed herein (collectively referred to as the “disclosure”) pertain to control systems, and more particularly, but not exclusively, to detectors configured to issue an alert or a command to a controller in response to a detected change in state of a given system, with a leak detector configured to respond to a detected leak of a working fluid from a liquid-based heat transfer system being but one example of disclosed detectors and related innovations. Some detectors are described in relation to cooling systems for electronic devices by way of example, though one or more of the disclosed innovations can be suitable for use in a variety of other control-system applications, as will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art following a review of the present disclosure.
Computer system performance and heat dissipation density continue to increase. Consequently, conventional air-cooling is giving way to liquid-cooling in some computer system applications, including, but not exclusively, server and data center applications. Although commercially available liquid cooling systems are considered to be reliable, an automated approach for detecting an unlikely leak might be desirable in some applications. However, commercially available moisture sensors and leak detectors are not compatible with existing control systems for computer systems.
Accordingly, there remains a need for sensors configured to detect a leak from a liquid cooling system. There also remains a need for a monitoring system configured to initiate an alert responsive to a leak detected by the leak detector. A need also remains for a leak detector configured to be compatible with a control system for a computer system or other computing environment.